


effervescence | sookai

by omghosh



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, dry cleaners?, kai is the universal cutie- fight me if you dare, shopping date?, soobin is a giant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:55:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29630112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omghosh/pseuds/omghosh
Summary: “Uh, sorry? Do I have something on my face?”The boy shook his head furiously.“N-no! Sorry... what were you asking me before?”An endeared chuckle broke the nervousness that the boy had seemed to be working up. The giant’s eyes crinkled into a smile, dimples appearing in his cheeks.“Well, I was just asking if you had seen my laundry anywhere? I’ve asked everyone else, and they said they didn’t have it, so maybe you know where it is?”In which a nervous brunette encounters a giant; it seems that mixing up laundry is the new way of courting people.
Relationships: Choi Soobin/Huening Kai
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> PROMPT: ‘They're at a DIY Laundry shop and one if their clothes gets mixed up with another, and it just so happened to be whites! So the other apologises and ends up buying new clothes for the other, and they end up having a crush because the person looks like a model.’

The whirring of the washing machines  and the  mellow scent of fabric  softener filled the  walls of the shop. Clothes churned as people tapped their feet while lo oking expectantly at the swirls of bubbles and fabric in their mesmerising  matrix.

Among these people, sat a boy. He  played with his fingers, his  wide hazel eyes occasionally flitting from one thing to another.  His brown hair was cut neatly, a fringe framing the sides of his  head with the odd strand here and there, but he wasted no time in brushing  them away  hurriedly. There was nothing extraordinary about this boy , wearing a pale blue hoodie and some slightly crumple d jeans , he fitted the picture perfectly. Yet once someone noticed him, their eyes tended to linger over him slightly longer than the rest . Maybe it was th e way his eyes widened suddenly at things that were a norm to others, or maybe it was  the way he bit his lips nervously, as if sitting and waiting for his clothes to be dry cleaned was the most petrifying thing in the world.

**_ “Excuse me?” _ **

The boy yelped slightly, jumping in his seat . A literal giant peered down at him , yet his aura wasn’t hardly as intimidating as his height . His dark locks were ruffled as if he couldn’t care less about what people thought about him, and his hands were  shoved into the pockets of his very comfy looking sweatpants.  His cheeks were dusted with light pink, and a permanent pout seemed to be etched onto his lips . He tilted his head slightly.

**_ “Uh, sorry _ ** **_? Do I have something on my face?” _ **

The boy shook his head furiously.

**_ “ _ ** **_ N-no!  _ ** **_ Sorry. _ ** **_. _ ** **_. _ ** **__ ** **_ what were you asking me before?” _ **

An endea red chuckle  broke the nervousness that the boy had seemed to be working up. The giant’s eyes crinkled into a s mile, dimples appearing in his cheeks.

**_ “Well, I was just asking if you had seen my laundry anywhere?  _ ** **_ I’ve asked everyone else, and they said they didn’t have it, so maybe you know where it is?” _ **

**_ “ _ ** **_ I-” _ **

A ding cut off the boy before he could’ve answered. He whipped his head to  the source. 

**_ “My laundry’s done _ ** **_ , _ ** **__ ** **_ so _ ** **_ you can check if yours is here _ ** **_ -” _ **

Before he managed to finish his sentence, the guy was rummaging through his laundry , eyebrows furrowed. 

**_ “Huening- kai? What a cute name~” _ **

The guy held up a purple  hoodie that had his name embroidered on the front.

**_ “ _ ** **_ I-I- _ ** **_ ” _ **

**_ “ _ ** **_ It’s Soobin, by the way. _ ** **_ ” _ **

Soobin winked nonchalantly at the boy, eyes crinkling into a smile . He dipped his head back to the basket of clothes and continued his rummaging.

Meanwhile, our little Huening was a mess. The tips of his ears were reddened, and a wave of warmth washed over his  face. Words stuck to his throat, and he could hardly form a sentence without stuttering and stumbling.


	2. Chapter 2

Kai covered his now beetroot face with his sweater paws, mumbling incoherently. Soobin paid him no heed, focused on the lavender-scented clothes in front of him. His eyebrows furrowed slightly. In his hands was an awfully familiar shirt, exactly like the one he was looking for. It had the same words (‘maths sucks, but I’m good at it’) in the same font, printed in the exactly same place. The only difference was that where it had been as white as clouds before, it was now a light shade of pink. 

**_“Uh, Huening-kai? Is this yours?”_ **

Kai looked up, no longer as flustered as he was before (well, if the fact that his ears had gone from deep crimson to a strawberry pink was an improvement, that is). His mouth went slightly agape. 

**_“N-no...”_ **

Soobin fumbled around the shirt for the name tag. Sure enough, there it was- his name written neatly on the collar. 

_‘But why, if this is my shirt, is it pink?’_

He took another look at the contents of the basket. It was filled with warm colours- varying shades of red, pink, yellow and the odd purple here and there. 

**_“Ah, so that’s what happened”_ **

It was in a soft mumble that Soobin said this, but Kai heard him immediately. 

**_“What happened? Have you found what you were looking for?”_ **

Soobin scratched the back of his neck nervously, unsure whether to tell the younger what happened or not. He decided to be truthful. 

**_“Well, your clothes may have,_ ** **_kind_ ** **_of_ ** **_,_ ** **_maybe,_ ** **_possibly, stained my white shirt pink?”_ **

He was afraid to meet the younger’s eyes, scared of how he may react. 

Kai’s eyes widened. He jumped up from his seat and tugged the shirt out of Soobin’s hands. 

**_“I’m sorry, please forgive me! O-oh no. It’s stained really badly as well...”_ **

Soobin watched the boy carefully, not quite sure what to do or how to respond. He was just about to say that it was all okay, he didn’t really mind pink anyways, and the boy ought not to worry about it, when- 

**_“A-ah! I know, wait, come with me-”_ **

After hurriedly packing his clothes, Kai grabbed Soobin’s hand and dragged him out the store. In all honesty, he didn’t know what came over him in the moment. He was so focused on solving the problem that he didn’t notice Soobin’s small whines and protests. 

**_“Augh- Hueningie, it hurts-”_ **

When Kai finally stopped and turned back to Soobin, to say that he was breath-taken would be little of an understatement. For one, they had gone quite some way from the dry cleaners while speed walking, and it most definitely had taken its toll on the two. Soobin’s hair was much more ruffled than before, windswept strands of brown brushing his face. His lips were redder than before, as well as his cheeks- a whole new hue of pink. He whined again and attempted to shake Kai’s hand off his. 

Only then did Kai realise that he had dragged a practical stranger (albeit quite a cute one) on a whim, and he couldn’t explain it awfully logically. He blushed furiously and apologised to the older. 

Soobin just shook his head and chuckled once more. 

**_“_ ** **_Y’know_ ** **_, I was going to tell you that it really was fine, and you really didn’t have to-”_ **

Before Soobin could finish his sentence, Kai placed his fingers on his lips, shushing the older quiet effectively. He pouted, his lower lip jutting out in the most adorable manner. 

**_“No! I’ve made this problem, so I will solve it. So, stop trying to run away from me!”_ **

He dipped his head, mumbling: 

**_“Am I really that annoying?”_ **

In that moment, something inside Soobin snapped. He may have only known this person for a few minutes, an hour at most, but he felt an inexplicable urge to protect that adorable kid with his life. 

Softly, he tilted the boy’s chin up, and stared into those sparkling hazel eyes. 

**_“Don’t ever say that again.”_ **


	3. Chapter 3

**_ “ _ ** **_ You are enough, okay? Don’t ever assume I would run away just like that! You’re amazing, cute, wonderful, perfect- _ ** **_ ” _ **

A tiny, sniffly giggle escaped from the younger’s pout. His lips curved up into an uncertain smile, his cheeks  warming up from the unexpected rush of compliments. He wasn’t used to this feeling . T his uncertain fluttering o f his heart as he watc hed the adorable mess of the older in  front of him , this warmth that  embraced him so lovingly . 

It was all foreign to him, but he welcomed it.  The fragile heart of his couldn’t help but cling onto something so wholesome and pure, something that could be  the key to making it full again . But th e rational side of him thought that it was nonsensical. Soobin- the name was still unfamiliar on his tongue and yet it gave him waves of such protection and comfort.

As Huening Kai delved deeper into  his whirlpool of thoughts , Soobin had stopped. The older was staring at the younger, no less engrossed in his own  thoughts .

_ ‘ _ _ Ah.. _ _ He's so cute. _ _ ’ _

Despite the pair being so detached from it, the world around them was still the same one as before.  Traffic s uffocated the  roads , people rush ing  through the pavements for their respective reasons- a man in a suit with a briefcase h u rried along in his shiny black shoes ; a  chid stared at everything through their sparkling, wide eyes, clinging onto their mother’s sleeve. So, it wasn’t much of a surprise when a flustered pedestrian bumped into our daydreaming pair, making Huening Kai stumble into Soobin’s arms.

The poor girl apologised profusely before hurrying off. Kai was still in Soobin’s arms , unconsciously clinging onto the warmth of the older.

As much as Soobin loved holding Kai in his arms, he knew they needed to get a move on. Standing in the middle of the pavement, half-hugging, was earning them some confused glances from the other pedestrians, and the last thing Soobin wanted was to become an inconvenience. 

**_ “Huening Kai..?” _ **

The smaller boy looked up, his wide hazel eyes locking with Soobin’s. 

**_ “Mmph.” _ **

Soobin smiled fondly. He nudged Kai so t hat they were to a side, to let the flow of people through. 

**_ “Don’t you think we should get a move on?” _ **

**_ “Hm? A-ah, yes. We probably  _ ** **_ shoul _ ** **_ d.” _ **

Kai detached himself from the Soobin’s arms. 

**_ “Follow me, I think I know the place we should go.” _ **

Soobin opened his mouth to protest, but closed it quickly, remembering how Kai had reacted last time he had refused to him. He nodded slowly, and gestured Kai to lead the way.

They walked, hands brushing against each other , until they came face to face with the glass doors of  department store. Huening Kai dragged Soobin in. 

The inside of the shop wasn’t as crowded a s it had been outside. Hardly a handful of people were browsing through the selections of neatly  hung-up clothes on the racks , which both Soobin and Huening Kai appreciated , both not being huge fans of crowds. 

Kai’s eyes lit up and he rushed  off in every direction possible , gathering a few clothes that Soobin could try on. Soobin just stood there, amused by the sudden  rush of  energy  from  the younger. 

Soon enough, Soobin found himself in a fitting room trying out all of Kai’s picks. To be honest, he wasn’t picky with his clothes, usually opting to  wear something simple like a hoodie and  jean s . So, when he stepped out the fitting room to ask for Kai’s opinion on how he looked, he was slightly flustered to see the younger’s eyes widen and jaw drop.

**_ “W-whoa,  _ ** **_ hyung _ ** **_. You look a-amazing.” _ **

The same reaction was valid for all the clothes that Soobin tried on, so in the end they just decided to take them all.  At the counter, Soobin was getting ready to pay, but by the time he looked up on the counter, Kai was ready with the bags, having already paid for all So obin’s clothes.

**_ “You really shouldn’t have-” _ **

**_ “It’s the least I can do, after what I did to your shirt.” _ **

**__ ** Soobin gave up on protesting once he saw Huening head out the glass door without waiting for him.

**_ “W-Wait!” _ **

Kai turned around, bumping into Soobin.

**_ “A-mph. What happened?” _ **

Soobin looked down, playing with his fingers. 

**_ “I-I was just wondering if we could exchange numbers? Become friends?” _ **

He said the next part in less than a whisper, not wanting to be heard.

**_ “...or maybe more?” _ **

_ 3 years later _

**_ “Ning  _ ** **_ Ning _ ** **_ , come here!” _ **

Soobin tramped into Huening Kai’s room, where the younger was finishing up some homework. He crouched down, att empting to  back hug his precious little gum.

Huening Kai turned slowly around, scrunching up his nose at Soobin. 

**_ “What is it~” _ **

Soobin cooed slightly at his boyfriend’s cuteness, not wasting any time to peck Huening’s nose. 

**_ “ _ ** **_ Look what I found _ ** **_ ~” _ **

And sure enough, there it was. The same pink shirt , the same words ‘maths sucks, but I’m good at it’, in the same font , in the same place: the same thing that  had united two lost hearts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe I'll add pictures and format this nicely later. Maybe. Probably not, haha. Anyways, I wrote this last year when I actually had the inspiration and motivation to write, which I seem to have lost now. So, if this majorly sucks, I'm really sorry.


End file.
